November 2019 First Monday

Dear Alumni & Friends,

It has been a beautiful October at the College of Law, with the beloved fall colors of the Moscow campus quickly transitioning to snow and record cold and then back to the wonderful crisp and sunny afternoons we appreciate most while tailgating at the Kibbie Dome. It has also been an incredibly busy month, at both ends of our long hallway. In addition to our Bellwood Lecture events with our esteemed guest speaker, former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and the Law Advisory Council meetings, the law school is ever active with recruitment of students as well as new faculty. The law school is thriving with activity, energy, and scholarship.

Law Advisory Council

Fall is full of traditions at the University, including Homecoming, Leadership Weekend, our annual University Leadership Gala, and the meetings of the Law Advisory Council. The Council, established by former Dean and current Professor Jack Miller, is a group of distinguished alumni and friends who work with the Dean to advise on the College’s programs, advocate on behalf of the College, and assist in career development, admissions, fundraising, and communications with external audiences.

The Council met this past week in Moscow as part of the aforementioned Leadership Weekend. Although we faced some challenges when two major electrical switches failed in the Menard Law Building a few hours before our meeting—the explosions were heard across campus in the residence halls—we marched up to the Kibbie Dome and had an excellent meeting.  President Green joined us to discuss the future of the University and the College of Law, and the Council spent the afternoon focused on how the College can continue to fulfill the UI’s land-grant mission by providing a high quality, affordable legal education. The next day, several members of the Council joined me for the Vandal football game, where we cheered the Vandals to victory and may have adversely possessed the President’s Box during the second half.

Bellwood Memorial Lecture

Ken Salazar, former Secretary of the Interior and US Senator and Attorney General for the state of Colorado, joined the College of Law in Boise and in Moscow to present the 2019 Sherman J. Bellwood Memorial Lecture, titled: Climate Change & the Future of Energy. Secretary Salazar emphasized the need to recognize that we have not inherited the earth from our ancestors, we have only borrowed it from our children. For me, the highlight of Secretary Salazar’s visit was his obvious warmth and kindness, and his real love for interacting with our students.

As part of the Bellwood lecture series, Secretary Salazar participated in two panel discussions. The Boise discussion about “Natural Resources Federalism” was moderated by Associate Dean Stephen Miller and included Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

In Moscow, Professor Dylan Hedden-Nicely moderated a panel discussion about intergovernmental relationships between the US federal government and tribal nations, with Secretary Salazar, Chief Allan, Vice-Chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and McCoy Oatman, Councilman for the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee. One of many takeaways from their discussion is that tribes are successfully engaged in diverse economic activities on tribal lands while continuing to make it a priority to preserve wild places and the environment.

Thank you all who were able to attend one of our Bellwood events. Secretary Salazar left Idaho truly impressed with our home, our students, and the wonderful legal community you all have created.

Candidate Forum

College of Law students and the American Constitution Society hosted a Boise Mayoral candidate forum at the Boise campus on Wednesday, October 30. Moderated by Professors Shaakirrah Sanders and Michael Carney, the debate allowed College of Law students and community members the opportunity to ask questions and learn about five of the local candidates.

Tribute to the Scholarship of Dale Goble

Many of you benefitted from the keen intellect and kindness—if you dared approach his office door—of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dale Goble. Although Professor Goble retired recently, he remains an important part of our family, and of the legal academy more broadly. On November 1, two dozen legal scholars from across the country joined the College of Law and the University of Wyoming Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources in Boise for a Tribute to Professor Goble’s Scholarship. The participants confirmed that Professor Goble’s scholarship set the trajectory of modern wildlife law. Long before it became common practice at universities, he worked across disciplinary boundaries to include historians and ecologists, as well as both academics and resource users, in developing real, durable solutions that have yielded positive change on the ground. Professor Goble is an icon, and this event was a fitting tribute for one of the giants of the legal academy. A big thank you to Associate Dean and Professor of Law Stephen R. Miller and Professor Barbara Cosens for coordinating this event, and to all of the legal scholars who came from far and wide to participate. Congratulations to Professor Goble on this well-deserved recognition for a lifetime of dedication and commitment to natural resources and wildlife law.

Have a wonderful fall,

Jerrold A. Long
Dean
College of Law